Why You Should Care Less About Other People’s Plastic Surgery

Let me just start by saying this: In the beauty world, plastic surgery is a topic that’s enjoyed. Not the usual who’s-done-what or who-did-whose-nose gossip fodder, but more of "what’s your plastic surgery fantasy," with a side of which of the reputable licensed medical practitioners would you choose to go to? Imagine how people talk about their dream travels if money were no object, except the subject is cosmetic procedures. If you’re a beauty girl, you’ve had this conversation with your ilk, and you loved it. After all, who wouldn’t invest on looking better if you had the means?

That said, we also, sadly, live in a bubble. The adventurous beauty-obsessed bunch hates the “makeup is for the superficial” stereotype and embrace many strange things in the name of beauty (coffee colonic, acupuncture needles in your eye, snail slime face cream are just a few examples)—because at the end of the day, a lot of us believe that whatever makes a person happier and more confident, let them have it. (Of course, as long as it's done by a professional, and you've gone through assessment and preparation.)

However, outside this bubble it’s common to hear/read things like… “I’m not against plastic surgery,” and yet they also feel the need to add “…but,” plus their opinion. Open Twitter or Facebook and you’ll find hundreds crucifying a particular celebrity for her alleged nose job. Hit Huffpost and you’ll find Renee Zellweger having to put herself on defense for whatever cosmetic procedures she’s had done. In that article she says, “It’s no secret a woman’s worth has historically been measured by her appearance,” and it’s true, we are either too fat, too thin, too brown, too pango, too kulot, too short. And yet we cackle as we scroll through “failed” surgery photos, when all that person wanted to pursue is self-improvement.

A woman who goes under the knife does this so she feels good about herself or to boost her confidence (or you know, to finally quit contouring her nose and cheeks or wearing waist trainers on the daily like all of us plebes out here do, ugh) and here we all are shaming people who just want better selves. Also, “celebrities before and after surgery,” is an extremely popular Google search, which says a lot about us: Do we like this because we want to know that they’re just like us? Do we enjoy that nobody is that naturally perfect? I do think it’s important to note as well that in some places (like in Manila, for example), fangirl culture is rabid and insane, and many of them feel their idols owe them many things, say, how they choose to look and dress.

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In the end, though, whether or not you think it went well, next time you feel like making a snide remark on somebody’s rumored plastic surgery, here’s why we should ultimately care less about what a person has had done: It’s her face. It’s her money. It’s her life.